Uluwatu Facts, Stats and Your Fantasy Surfer Team

The last 2/3 of the 2018 Margaret River Pro have gone on vacation to Bali. In case you’ve been under a rock the past few weeks, we’ll update you as to why Western Australia’s premiere Championship Tour event has gone on a walk about.

Sharks.

That’s it. Fear of sharks. Shark paranoia. Surfers refusing to paddle out in “shark infested” waters. Any way you slice it, this year’s Western Australia event was put on hold in April and the WSL will be picking it back up this week in Bali. Specifically at the hollow left-hander Uluwatu.

So the same event is going to continue along like nothing happened, put the next heat in the water in Bali, and finish up with some lingering questions:

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY FANTASY SURFER TEAM?
The short answer is: it doesn’t. The long answer is a little more complicated to explain. Your teams for Margaret River were saved and logged in your team page and in Fantasy Surfer’s servers. They’re locked in and accounted for. Your Margaret River team now becomes your Uluwatu team. You don’t have to worry about making trades for this event because it’s not an option. This is the continuation of an event that has already started. Your Margaret River team lives on! Trading remains closed between the Corona Bali Protected and the Uluwatu Pro. After Uluwatu has been completed, trading will open for J-Bay with your Corona Bali Protected teams ready to be adjusted for J-Bay.

WILL THEY MOVE THIS EVENT TO ULUWATU IN THE FUTURE?
Hard to say at this point, but the WSL would LOVE to have an Indonesian leg of the tour. Two world class waves that every surfer is psyched to travel to.

DOES THIS MEAN WEST AUSTRALIA IS OFF THE TOUR?
There have been rumors of the Australian leg of the tour being reduced by one event for a long time. West Australia is kind of a long way for everyone to go, and a good percentage of the surfers would rather avoid the place if possible. But it has also produced consistent swell, varying locations, and they have solid financial backing by the Western Australian government.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A SURFER IS INJURED FOR ULUWATU?
Interesting question. John John Florence has officially withdrawn from the Uluwatu event. His opponent, Mikey Wright, will get a walk through in their heat, and John John will finish with a 3rd Round loss. In Fantasy Surfer speak, he will occupy one of the 36 scoring spots for this event and will NOT be eligible to be replaced by your alternate surfer on your team.

WHEN WILL THE EVENT BEGIN?
The WSL has decided that first call for the event will be at 7am local time June 8th. The event must finish no later than June 13th per a previous WSL statement.

HASN’T THE WSL BEEN TO ULUWATU BEFORE?
Yes, they were here in 2008. It was Bruce Irons only CT victory in his career. Only 5 of the current surfers on tour surfed in the event (Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson, Adriano DeSouza, Owen Wright, Jordy Smith). Highlights are below.

And here’s some facts for you to mull over for the event:

WHO: 24 of the Men’s WSL Top 34 + 2 wildcards, and 8 of the Women’s WSL Top 17 + 1 wildcard.

WHAT: Event No.3 of the Men’s & Women’s 2018 WSL Championship Tour

WHEN: June 8th – June 13th, 2018

WHERE: Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia

TIME ZONE: Keramas, Bali, Indonesia is 12 hours ahead of the US East Coast and 15 hours ahead of the US West Coast. This means that 7:00am, Friday, June 8th in Bali is 7:00pm, Thursday, June 7th in New York, and 4:00pm Thursday, June 7th in Los Angeles. If you’re not in any of those time zones and want to know the difference in time from Uluwatu to your area, we recommend visiting TimeAndDate.com.

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INJURIES / REPLACEMENTS / WILDCARDS:
At the start of the event in Margaret River, Kelly Slater (foot) and Jeremy Flores (Birth of child) withdrew from the Men's event. Slater was replaced by Miguel Pupo. Flores has been replaced by trials runner-up Kael Walsh. Mikey Wright has been given a commissioner's wildcard from the WSL. Local David Delroy-Carr earned a spot into the main event as the Trials winner.

On the women’s side, Courtney Conlogue withdrew with a foot injury. She was replaced in the draw by Macy Callaghan. The wildcard was local trials winner Mikaela Greene.